Perry Work Report for the week of March 29, 2012

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March 29, 2012

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Toronto Library Workers Walk the Picket Line

Toronto Public Library workers, most of whom are not librarians, walked off the job on March 18. The primary point of contention was job seniority for staff with less than 15 years on the job. “We started whittling it down from 15 years as they took some issues off the table — ‘If you take this off, we’ll go to 13,’ and, ‘Okay, we’re willing to go to 12 if you take these off.’ So we were making those advances,” Ainslie said. “But then we got to a point where, looking at the job market in Toronto and across Canada, they were asking for a level of job security that I don’t think anyone working a part-time job has, or would expect.” A tentative agreement was reached late Wednesday.

The Globe and Mail, March 28, 2012: “Toronto library workers reach tentative deal” by Kelly Grant And Adrian Morrow

National Post, March 19, 2012: “Employment security at heart of library labour dispute”

The Toronto Star, March 21, 2012: “Librarians help us get to the truth”, Joe Fiorito 

The Toronto Star, March 20, 2012: “Library strike creates dilemma for Ford team: Symbolism of the Atwood debacle remains fresh on Torontonians' minds”, by Robyn Doolittle 

The Toronto Star, March 19, 2012: “Toronto library strike: Job security the big issue again” by Daniel Dale

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Ontario Doctors Offer to Pay More Tax, and Other Hospital Workers “increasingly unionizing”

As the Ontario government warns doctors and other public-sector employees, in its latest budget, to voluntarily freeze their salaries for two years, a group of doctors has called on the federal and provincial governments to raise income taxes levied on Canadians earning over $100,000 annually. "Tax us. Canada's worth it."

Hospital executives said they would be watching last Tuesday’s budget closely “to see whether the province plans to lift or extend a wage freeze, which they say has created inequities among employees and is behind the certification drives. The Ontario Hospital Association says workers are increasingly unionizing to get around a two-year wage-freeze that applies only to non-union counterparts.”

Ontario Ministry of Finance, Ontario Budget 2012, Physician Compensation

Ontario Ministry of Finance, March 2012: Public Sector Salary Disclosure 2012 (Disclosure for 2011) : Hospitals and Boards of Public Health. Scroll down to “Hospitals and Boards of Public Health”(All hospitals, PDF, 112 pages)

The Globe and Mail, March 27, 2012: “Ontario’s austerity budget sets up public-sector showdown”, by Karen Howlett

Doctor’s For Fair Taxation. View online petition and names.

The Canadian Press , March 22, 2012: “Doctors want a new tax on Canadians earning more than $100,000: A group of doctors is calling on federal and provincial governments to raise income taxes levied on high-income Canadians.”

The Toronto Star, March 21, 2012: “Walkom: These high-income docs want the rich to pay”, by Thomas Walkom

The Globe and Mail, March 19, 2012: “How do we control physician costs?”, by André Picard

The Toronto Star, March 25, 2012: “Hospital brass say wage freeze prompting union drives”, by Theresa Boyle

Irish Independent, March 3, 2012: “Irish doctors are being wooed to Canada with massive salaries worth more than EUR 380,000 -- almost four times what they would earn here”, by Breda Heffernan

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New Research Tool from the U.S. Census Bureau

“This new Web page is a gateway to the world of research at the Census Bureau. Visit the site to learn about innovations to measure and understand America through improved statistics, statistical products and analysis. The new blog — “Research Matters” — features the work of researchers from all areas of the Census Bureau. Research ranges from substantive topics of interest in demography, economics and other social sciences to methodological questions, such as the role of statistical modeling in surveys, designs for the 10-year census, research on record linkage and confidentiality protection. Census Bureau researchers include geographers, statisticians, economists, demographers and more.”
Link provided by IWS Documented News Service

United States Census Bureau, Research @ Census

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Ontario Budget 2012

“Over the next six years, a program of fiscal austerity will see growth in total program spending average well below 1 per cent per year. The Liberal government plans to achieve this by freezing or limiting gains in public sector wages, increasing efficiency, trimming infrastructure spending, and reducing the generosity of public pensions. Compared with a “business as usual” scenario, the reductions in program spending and cost containment under this austerity program will generate a cumulative $17.7 billion in savings over 2012–13 to 2014–15. [...]The government announced that it will delay corporate tax reductions (a saving of $2.1 billion), increase user fees for some services ($600 million), and optimize revenues from gambling and alcoholic beverage sales ($700 million).”

Ontario Ministry of Finance, March 27, 2012. Strong Action for Ontario, Ontario Budget 2012

Conference Board of Canada, MARCH 27, 2012: "BUDGET ANALYSIS: An Ambitious Plan—The Challenge Now Is Execution”, by Matthew Stewart and Ksenia Bushmeneva. Free access for all.

The Globe and Mail, March 29, 2012: “NDP to propose Ontario budget changes, terms to support government”, by Karen Howlett

The Globe and Mail, March 28, 2012: “Ontario Liberals haven't yet passed the real Drummond test”, by Adam Radwanski 

Maclean’s Magazine, March 28, 2012: “Ontario budget could trigger election if NDP rejects it”, by Gabriela Perdomo. A review, with links, of media reports, analysis and opinion.

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Brothels and Pimping Legalized in Ontario

"Ontario’s highest court has legalized brothels in a sweeping decision that condemned current prostitution laws for adding to the hazards of a highly dangerous profession. The landmark decision is binding on Ontario courts and sets up a final showdown at the Supreme Court of Canada next fall or in early 2013."

CANLII, March 26, 2012: Canada (Attorney General) v. Bedford, 2012 ONCA 186 (CanLII)

The Globe and Mail, March 26, 2012: “Landmark ruling legalizes Ontario brothels”, by Kirk Makin

CBC News, March 26, 2012: “Ontario Appeal Court strikes down ban on brothels: Two sex-trade laws ruled unconstitutional”, by Geoff Nixon

The Globe and Mail, March 27, 2012: “What will Ontario’s legalized brothels be like? Your questions answered”, by Chris Hannay

The Globe and Mail, March 26, 2012: “Why brothels as businesses make sense”, by Michael Babad

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Bankers and Banking, At Home and In Britain

PWC has recently released a new report advising Canadian banks how to attract, retain develop and promote employees. The report states, “Canadian banks need to be conscientious in their activities. To deliver value they must fully understand and leverage their most important asset: their people” Key findings and themes in the report include: Employee value proposition and engagement, rise of the multigenerational workforce; Retention and loyalty, reduced turnover in the wake of ongoing uncertainty; The slowing of the career progression, and Strategic deployment, Women in banking – climbing, not always at the top.

PWC, February 2012: Workforce performance in Canadian banking: Value Through Your People(Full Report, PDF, 12 pages)

In England, there’s no shortage of stories about excessive ‘fat cat’ salaries for bank executives, but the Globe and Mail reports that an increasing number of bankers are permanently turning their backs on the financial industry and moving to smaller finance boutiques, heading overseas, or setting up their own businesses - disenchanted by “what some see as the greater demands and diminishing rewards of their jobs at big banks”.

The Globe and Mail, March 23, 2012: “Hit by cuts, bankers run from London’s finance industry”, by Sarah White And Victoria Howley

The Telegraph, February 11, 2012: “Wall Street banks trump British rivals with big bonuses: British banks stand to fall behind their US counterparts as major Wall Street banks continue to pay large cash bonuses to London-based staff”, by Harry Wilson

Yorkshire Post, February 23, 2012: “Hays sees recruitment squeeze in the banking industry continue”,

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Canadian Professors the Highest Paid

According to data compiled jointly by the Laboratory for Institutional Analysis from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow and the Boston College Center for International Higher Education, and included in a new study, International Comparison of Academic Salaries in 28 Countries, Canadian’s academics are the highest paid in the world.

National Post, March 24, 2012: " Marni Soupcoff: Canada’s high-quality universities merit high pay of profs", by Marni Soupcoff 

Times Higher Education, March 22, 2012: “Academic salaries no longer attract top talent, survey finds”, by Jack Grove

Chronicle of Higher Education, March 22, 2012: “Canadian Professors Are Best Paid in the World—Again”

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Labour Force Survey: 2011 Year-End Review

Statistics Canada’s latest look at the labour force in Canada includes the following sections:

  • Strong start, weaker finish
  • Alberta accounts for more than one-half of net job creation
  • Population age 55 and over grows by 282,000, driving workforce aging
  • Workforce age 25 to 54 also increases
  • Recovery stalls for youth
  • Participation and employment rates down for recent immigrants
  • Aboriginal workers fare better in 2011 than in previous 2 years
  • Service sector outpaces goods sector
  • Employment declines among some white-collar occupations
  • Strong growth in health occupations
  • Increasing ranks of blue-collar workers
  • Surge in employment for high school grads, but unemployment rate remains high in this group

Statistics Canada, March 23, 2012: Labour Force Survey: 2011 year-end review (HTML). (PDF, 12 pages).

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Current State of Canadian Family Finances

A recently released report from The Vanier Institute of the Family reports: many Canadian families struggle to balance high debt loads with modest savings and often precarious income; younger and older members family members in particular still struggle with the effects of the recession; young people find it difficult to get into today’s job market, workers aged 55 and older have filled over half the net jobs created since the low point of the recession in 2009, but there is also an astonishing increase in the number of seniors declaring bankruptcy, a 1700% percent rise over the last 20 years.

The Vanier Institute of the Family, March 22, 2012: “The Current State of Canadian Family Finances, 2011 - 2012”, by Roger Sauve. (Full report, PDF, 40 pages) 

The Globe and Mail, March 22, 2012: “Financial security 'elusive' for many Canadian families”, by Tavia Grant

“Many Canadians use debt to finance the purchase of a new home, acquire goods and services, or invest in education. In recent years, both mortgage debt and consumer debt have increased significantly. In 1980, the ratio of household debt to personal disposable income was 66%; that ratio recently passed the 150% figure.

Statistics Canada, March 23, 2012: Study: Household debt in Canada (summary). 
(Full Report HTML) (Full Report, PDF, 15 pages)

The Globe and Mail, March 23, 2012: “Debt surprise: Snapshot shows who owes more”, by Tavia Grant

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Manufacturing Jobs in the U.S. – Are The Experts Wrong?

In the last decade, U.S. manufacturing suffered its worst performance in its history in terms of jobs, losing 5.7 million manufacturing jobs, and “the decline as a share of total manufacturing jobs (33 percent) exceeded the rate of loss in the Great Depression. Despite this unprecedented negative performance, most economists, pundits and elected officials remain remarkably blasé about what has transpired. Manufacturing, they argue, has simply become incredibly productive. While tough on workers who are laid off, outsized job losses actually indicate superior performance. All that might be needed are better programs to help laid-off production workers. And there is certainly no need for a determined national manufacturing competitiveness strategy.”

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, March 28, 2012: "Worse Than the Great Depression: What the Experts Are Missing About American Manufacturing Decline”, by Robert D. Atkinson, Luke A. Stewart, Scott M. Andes and Stephen Ezell. (PDF, 6 pages)

The Washington Post, March 19, 2012: “Economists offer more pessimistic view on manufacturing in upcoming report”, by Peter Whoriskey

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U.S. Economy Is Dependent On Immigrant Labor, Now And For The Future

“This short analysis provides data on immigrants in the labor force at the current time of slowed immigration, high unemployment, and low job growth and highlights eight industries where immigrants are especially vital. How large a share of the labor force are they and how does that vary by particular industry? How do immigrants compare to native-born workers in their educational attainment and occupational profiles?”

Brookings Institution, March 22, 2012: “Immigrant Workers in the U.S. Labor Force”

Full Analysis (PDF, 18 pages)

Appendix: Top 5 detailed occupations for selected industries, by nativity, civilian employed persons age 16-64, 2010

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Pot People Unionize

Los Angeles Times, March 23, 2012: “Workers at L.A. pot dispensaries form labor union: The move is partly aimed at defeating the city's proposed ban on businesses that sell medical marijuana”, by Kate Linthicum

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Book of the Week

The Handbook of Human Resource Management Education: Promoting an Effective and Efficient Curriculum, edited by Vida Gulbinas Scarpello. Los Angeles : Sage Publications, 2008. 464 p. ISBN 9781412954907 (hardcover)

The Handbook of Human Resource Management Education, the first handbook written on HRM education in the United States, clears up the confusion about the nature, content, and source of human resource management expertise. Stressing the importance of effective educational requirements to prepare students to work as professionals in the HRM function of organizations, this Handbook takes a giant leap forward in advancing the reputation and esteem of the HRM field. HRM educators and professionals, graduate students, business executives, and anyone interested in effective and efficient management of human resources or in advancing the HRM field will find the Handbook of Human Resource Management Education an invaluable reference tool.

About the Author:

Vida Scarpello earned her Ph.D.and M.A. in Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota. She served on the faculties of management at the University of Georgia, University of Florida, and Georgia State University, from which she retired in 2002 She was a visiting professor at Cornell University and University of Minnesota. Dr. Scarpello is past chair of the Human Resources Division of the Academy of Management, past president of the Southern Management Association, and a Fellow of the Southern Management Association. She has served as instructor for many management development programs and as interest arbitrator for wage rate disputes in the telephone industry. She consults with major U.S. corporations and has consulted with state and city governments. Dr. Scarpello has served as expert witness before Ontario's Pay Equity Tribunal; and for a number of employment litigation cases in the United States: including McKeon Jones & Johnson-Randolph vs. CWA and AT&T; Carson B. Carmichael et al., v. Martin Marietta Corporation; Haynes v. Shoney; and Reynolds v. Alabama Department of Transportation Currently, she holds a courtesy appointment as Professor at the University of Florida.

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Editor: Claire Wollen
Designer: Nick Strupat

Copyright © 2012 Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources, University of Toronto. All rights reserved.

Date posted